Joaquin Phoenix Shines In Walk The Line

Walk The Line was one of the best movies of 2005 and it gave Joaquin Phoenix a chance to showcase not only his tremendous acting ability but also to show how much he can sing like Johnny Cash. Walk The Line did well at the 2006 Academy Awards and rightfully helped to solidify the careers of the people that starred in it. It was a well written movie that deserved every award it won.

You don’t need to be a Johnny Cash fan to appreciate the 2005 movie Walk The Line but it does help if you are a Johnny Cash fan. Walk The Line is the biographical movie about the legendary country singer Johnny Cash that stars Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash. When you see a biographical movie about a celebrity you inevitably learn something about that celebrity and for those of us that are too young to know what Johnny Cash went through then this movie is a deep look into a very troubled soul. You learn about Cash’s drug addiction and you also get a really good feel for what he went through to make June Carter agree to be June Carter Cash. It is a love story and it is a fascinating story as well about a man that self destructs and the woman that picks him up when it seems like no one else could.

Walk The Line received 5 Oscar nominations with both leading actors getting nominated for their respective roles. It was well known by Oscar time that not only did Joaquin Phoenix really sing the Johnny Cash parts but Reese Witherspoon also really sang all of the June Carter Cash parts and that added such a sense of realism to the movie that is amazing that it did not win best picture for 2005. Reese Witherspoon wound up winning the Oscar for best leading actress for her performance in Walk The Line and there are very few people that would say that Witherspoon did not deserve that Oscar. All of the acting in Walk The Line was incredible and it allowed the viewer to feel like they are really watching Johnny Cash living his life. With realism like that being spurred by incredible acting it is no wonder that Walk The Line did so well at the box office and at the Academy Awards.

There is always a suspicion that biographical movies are over dramatized to make them more appealing to movie going audiences but interviews with the family and friends of June and Johnny Cash indicate that Walk The Line is a very accurate story. Walk The Line takes the Johnny Cash story right from the time he first discovers music all the way through his drug induced breakdown and to his happily ever after with the love of his life June. Walk The Line goes out of its way to be as accurate as possible especially with its portrayal of the extremely conservative values of the south in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Back then divorce was considered a horrible sin and June Carter was divorced by the time we first meet her in the movie and we get to see a couple of the run ins she has with fans over her divorce. Today such views seem stiff and unrealistic but back then it was considered very taboo to be divorced and it was especially difficult on celebrities who had to stay in the public eye after a divorce was final.

Walk The Line earned every nomination it received, every award it won, and every dollar it made at the box office. It helped to elevate Reese Witherspoon into a new level of stardom with her Oscar win for her performance as June Carter Cash and it also helped Joaquin Phoenix get some well deserved recognition for his talent. If you have not seen Walk The Line then you should.

Share this article with your friends

This artilce has been viewed: 0 times this month, and 8 times in total since published.